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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28554261">Closer than ever</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaolie/pseuds/chaolie'>chaolie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, mcyt, the village that went mad - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Accusations, Actually I'll use the other tags too I need the serotonin, Angst, Backstory, False Accusations, Gen, No beta we die like Gogy in the 1st round, Orphan - Freeform, The Village That Went Mad, Watch me tag them as Robin Unnamed-Catboy and Cornelius and then cry that no one can find this fic, the town of salem game</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:27:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,402</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28554261</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaolie/pseuds/chaolie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin's life wasn't easy, there was no doubting that. But during his short time on this earth, he had some happy moments before becoming basically orphaned for a second time. At some point, his life was even normal... but strangely, it always led back to the jail, in which with just one lever lives were taken away. So was it really surprising when people dear to him ended up inside as well?</p><p>===================</p><p>Based on The Village That Went Mad story shown on Karl's stream. Originally, it seemed like a good idea to write this short fic and now boom, it has over 3k words and my whole day is gone?? Happens ig. Enjoy the Angst!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Robin &amp; Cornelius, Robin &amp; Unnamed Catboy, Unnamed Catboy / Cornelius</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>122</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Closer than ever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Robin’s life wasn't too easy at first, and it was painfully obvious to see. Even his earliest memory was bad, after all. He was peacefully lying in his bed, half-asleep when his father walked into his room and gently sat down on the boy’s bed. The man was trembling slightly, which didn’t go unnoticed by the kid. They sat in silence for what felt like forever before the adult turned to look at Robin.</p><p>“Robin…” he said the boy’s name softly, but his voice was hoarse. Slowly, the kid sat up and rubbed his eyes before focusing on his father again. “Your mother… she won’t be coming back anytime soon, son. She’s…” the man paused for a moment, collecting himself. “If Jimmy bothered to find a real doctor, she’d… She’s not here anymore, Robin.”</p><p>The man looked over to his son, a young child who should <em>not</em> remember this moment in the future. He watched the confused boy rub his hands, not knowing what to say and probably not understanding what the man meant. Again, it felt like ages has passed before the man got up and gently pushed the kid back onto his bed.</p><p>“Go back to sleep and don’t worry about this,” he said. He was sure Robin would forget this conversation soon.<br/>But he didn’t. Somehow, the memory stuck with him, even if he didn’t get it at first. Because he was just a kid, he didn’t know what death was, he didn’t know where his mother went, he didn’t know why his father grew so grim after that night, he didn’t know anything… but as time went on, he learned. He slowly pieced the story together and figured out what dying meant long before a child should. <br/>Years passed and once again, the boy lied in his bed and tried to fall asleep when his father walked in and hesitated before sitting in the very same spot he picked when announcing his wife’s death. This time Robin didn’t wait before sitting up and looking at him. The man sighed before putting a hand on his son’s shoulder.<br/>“Robin, I… Dad’s going away for some time,” he said, avoiding eye contact with him.</p><p>“...Why?” the boy asked hesitantly.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be back soon, I promise,” the man said. Robin knew better than to ask more questions.</p><p>“Okay,” he nodded.</p><p>And just like the other night, the man got up and tucked his son into bed again. Robin watched helplessly as the man left the room before curling up under the covers. Little did he know, this was the last time he ever got to see his father. Only the next day he found out that he left to fight a war and only next month he learned that the battle was won, but at the cost of his father’s life.</p><p>During that week of blissful unawareness, the boy took up medicine. He was worried that his father would be injured when he gets back and he remembered well the man complaining about the lack of doctors in the village. He went around, learning from everyone willing to talk. He learned about different plants from Jack, the local farmer, and he memorized different medicines and more expensive ways of helping hurt people with the help of Miles Memeington, who was rich enough to afford books about those topics. Cornelious, his neighbor, also explained how to aid hurt people in everyday activities, basing his knowledge on his own experiences with his blind partner, so Robin felt ready to help his father through whatever happened to him during the war.</p><p>Only to find out that he’d never return.</p><p>He survived a surprising amount of time as an orphan. He had no source of money, of food, of clean water, of clothes, of… anything, really, but he still managed to get through it. He stole from the local people, he taught himself how to make clothes out of old sheets, and he had his medical knowledge in case he’d ever get hurt. He even survived the winter, spending most of the time either in his house, just barely keeping himself warm, or at his neighbors’ place when things got too cold and they insisted to house him for the nights at least. Sure, he lost a lot of weight during that time of the year, but he was still alive, and that was all that counted.</p><p>When spring came and the weather got warm again, he admittedly grew more careless. It was one less thing to worry about, he could finally play outside again, and he took that opportunity. He almost felt like a kid again, a hint of a smile appeared on his face for the first time in forever and he almost laughed to himself until he tripped and fell, hitting a couple of stones.</p><p>His knee was suddenly covered in blood and he was in pain, with no parent to come over, pick him up and cover it for him. He had to slowly pull himself up and stumble back to the town on his own. He had no bandages left either, no way to stop the bleeding on his own. But he knew who always had medicine, Miles. Arguably, the man was able to afford more than the mayor himself sometimes, and if he just wanted to become a doctor instead of a ‘steak censor’ he easily could, but Robin had no say in this.</p><p>After he decided to ‘borrow some things’ from the man, everything happened fast. Just moments after opening the chest, he was held up by his collar. Then, he was outside, dragged over to the fireplace. Suddenly, all the town’s folk were there and everyone was arguing and yelling. He tried to explain himself, but his quiet voice was nothing against the angry people’s ears and his words disappeared somewhere, buried under the accusations everyone threw at him.</p><p>When everything was quiet again, he stood in front of the prison cell with just the mayor behind him. He knew well what that thing really was, how with a simple pull of the lever the floor disappeared and people died. He watched his father and Bob build it together, and against his old man’s wishes he snuck out and witnessed the first execution himself, he knew what would come next.</p><p>Slowly, Jimmy led him forward and helped him to keep balance, with his hurt knee still not taken care of, until he made it past the door into the tiny room. It was even smaller than the orphan originally imagined. Sure, it looked tiny from the outside, but looking at the whole world through iron bars made it feel far, far smaller.</p><p>“So…” the mayor said quietly, trying to act casual. Still, putting a literal kid in the prison was probably the worst thing he ever had to do so far. “H-how does it feel in there, boy? How do you feel?” the man asked hesitantly. He had no idea that Robin knew what the building was, he just hoped to have a normal conversation before he’d have to pull the lever.</p><p>Robin backed up into a corner of the cell, hugging himself and leaning against the wall to take some pressure off his leg. He didn’t dare look the mayor in the eyes as he shuddered, biting back tears. He didn’t want to cry, but he was so scared, so goddamn scared…</p><p>“I-it’s nice,” he muttered, his voice breaking. “I- I feel closer to my parents,” he tried to force a smile. Hearing that answer made the mayor freeze. That poor child…<br/>Jimmy didn’t even close the door yet when someone approached him from behind, clearing their throat to get the mayor’s attention. Quickly, the man turned around and looked at the person behind him… Cornelius. For a moment, he considered explaining why the door was still open, but before he could even excuse himself, the newly-arrived man spoke.</p><p>“You don’t have to do it, Jimmy. We reached an agreement with Miles, the kid can stay,” he said. He spoke confidently and the mayor didn’t even consider the idea of the man bluffing.</p><p>“...Stay, and go where exactly?” he asked instead of arguing. Maybe because he trusted the man, maybe because he really didn’t want to kill a child.</p><p>“He’ll go with me for now,” the man answered. The mayor just nodded before stepping back into the cell and helping the trembling boy out of it. Robin was terrified, here at least he knew what would happen.</p><p>“Do what Cornelius tells you to, Robin,” Jimmy instructed, stepping back to close the empty jail and leaving the child at the other man’s mercy.</p><p>“Hey, Robin,” Cornelius said in a surprisingly soft tone, crouching down to get to the boy’s level. The kid just looked at him, still trembling. “It’s okay. Just come with me,” he said, gently taking the boy’s hand and getting back up to lead him.</p><p>Robin was filled with nothing but fear as he stumbled after the man. They walked slowly, so his knee didn’t hurt that much, but the suspense made the boy’s stomach turn as he wondered where he was being taken to. He always thought that his neighbors liked him to at least a degree, but now that he was probably about to die, he seriously doubted that idea. Finally, they reached their destination. Cornelius’ house.</p><p>“I’m home,” the man called out as he opened the door, leading the orphan inside. The house was dark, so it took the boy a moment to notice the man’s partner sitting on the bed in the corner. “With Robin,” Cornelius added.</p><p>“That’s great,” the blind man answered with a soft smile. “Robin, can you come here?” he asked, holding his hand out. The boy looked up at Cornelius, who nodded as an answer.</p><p>“Go ahead,” he said, letting go of his hand. Slowly, Robin stumbled over and took the other man’s hand. “You two stay here, I need to talk to Miles again,” the man said once Robin made it over to the bed and, with no further explanations, left the house.</p><p>“Do you want to sit down?” the blind man offered once his partner left. Hesitantly, Robin nodded.</p><p>“Y-yes, please. My knee hurts,” he answered faintly. The man helped him up onto the bed before getting up and walking to the other side of the house and grabbing some cloth. He knew exactly where it was, luckily.</p><p>“Others told me you were hurt. Do you know how to cover the wound with that?” he asked, handing the boy the cloth. The child took it into his trembling hands and looked it over.</p><p>“Y-yes, thank you,” he muttered, quickly getting to work. The man smiled, sitting back down next to him and patiently waiting. “...W-what will happen to me?” Robin asked once he was done. The man turned to him with a confused expression.</p><p>“Did Cornelius not tell you?” he asked. Robin shook his head.</p><p>“N-no, he just said he made a deal w-with Mr. Memeington. I-I don’t know what t-they agreed to do,” he stuttered out. The man nodded slowly with a faint smile.</p><p>“Okay, I can explain it to you, then. We agreed to buy the supplies you touched and pay him more than usual, in exchange he promised to drop the topic and forget what you did,” the man said as if it was a normal thing. But no, it was not a normal thing, it was unimaginable, especially for Robin.</p><p>“...Why?” the boy asked slowly. What did they want in exchange from him? He had nothing…</p><p>“Well, I and my partner are growing concerned about you, Robin. So we decided that you should be staying with us, for now at least,” the man explained. Once again, his words felt out of this world and Robin wondered if this was all a dream.</p><p>“...So you’re… a-adopting me…?” he asked quietly. The man smiled upon hearing that.</p><p>“You could say so, yes. Are you okay with us doing so?” he asked. Robin nodded so quickly and eagerly that the bed moved slightly as he did.</p><p>“I-I am! I…!” he answered quickly, as if he was afraid that they’d change their minds.</p><p>“It’s settled, then. Welcome home, son,” the man said. Those words were like a melody, like a promise of a better tomorrow, and boy was it better.</p><p>Robin stayed with his new parents for a little over a year, and he looked far better than before. He wasn’t going around hungry and dirty anymore, he had new, pretty clothes and a beaming smile on his face. He still avoided some people, especially Miles, but he was clearly recovering and finally, he was a kid again. A kid with two loving parents and with a home filled with love. It still felt like a dream sometimes, but he was too happy to care. He just wished he could have this life forever…</p><p>As the spring was coming to an end and the summer almost began, his parents allowed him to stay in his old house again. The buildings weren’t too far from each other and Robin really enjoyed cleaning it up and re-decorating it, so they saw no reason to stop him. He was a growing kid too, so he needed more space. And after over a year, he finally trusted that the couple wouldn’t leave him in his sleep so he felt safe staying a house over as well. Just a week after he moved there, he was woken up by a commotion near the well.</p><p>“Who could ever do that?!”</p><p>“How did this happen?!”</p><p>“Oh god, so much blood…”</p><p>“Did anyone see anything?!”</p><p>The boy quickly dressed himself before joining the crowd and trying to make sense of their yelling. At first, he thought it feels better when they aren’t yelling at him, but just moments later he saw his blind father in the middle of the gathering, his head down in shame and blood on his hands.</p><p>“T-they killed him right in front of me, but… but they said nothing. I don’t know who…” he said quietly. <br/>As Robin walked closer, he noticed something else. Bloodied and still, there lied his other dad, resting on the covers he must’ve been carried over on. He wasn’t breathing and didn’t show any signs of life, but the blood on his chest seemed fresh. Still unnoticed by anyone else, Robin stumbled over to him and grabbed his hand, his limp and bloodied hand. The hand that usually tucked him to sleep or playfully ruffled his hair was suddenly growing colder, and it felt… <em>wrong</em>.</p><p>“...Dad?” he said faintly, still expecting an answer.</p><p>Those quiet words were enough to get someone to notice him, and just like that things got as fast as the day he got caught stealing. Some of the questions and accusations were now thrown in his direction as he backed away, trembling already.</p><p>“His hands are bloodied too!” someone, he truly didn’t catch it, yelled.</p><p>“I- I just got here-” he tried to explain himself, but everyone was accusing him already.</p><p>“Lay off, the kid did nothing wrong!” he could hear his father arguing, but his statement was lost somewhere in the argument.“Someone had to do it!”</p><p>“He’s just a kid!”</p><p>“Maybe they worked together?!”</p><p>“He knows medicine, he surely knows how to kill!”</p><p>“Why did you kill him?!”</p><p>Accusations were thrown around and suddenly, there he was, in front of the jail again, side-to-side with his father, the only living one. People were still arguing as Robin found himself leaning against the only father figure he had left. The blind man’s hand found its way to his shoulder and his ever-so-gentle voice reached the child’s ears.</p><p>“You’ll be fine, Robin. You’ll be okay,” he said, and even though he wasn’t too certain of that, at least he sounded confident. And the boy believed him, he took those words to his heart and trusted them.</p><p>“A-are you sure?” he stuttered out. The man nodded.</p><p>“I am. I promise, nothing will happen to you.”<br/>And just a minute later, they were torn from each others’ sides. And what are an orphan and his blind parental figure against a village filled with people drove feral by fear? What are the little boy’s pleas against their deaf ears? Nothing, nothing at all, so Robin could do nothing as he watched his father being pushed into the small room with the doors closed right behind him. And suddenly, all the sounds felt far away from him.</p><p>Suddenly, no one was holding him back and he found himself at the jail’s door, reaching through the bars and crying. Did he break free or did they let him go? He didn’t know and didn’t care. His father somehow found his way to the bars and took his hand, rubbing it gently. Despite everything, the man was smiling through his tears.</p><p>“You’ll be okay, Robin,” he said again. And suddenly, he fell through the floor. Robin heard him scream, but the sound soon went quiet. Everything went quiet, actually. Everyone stopped their arguing to watch the small orphaned child stare at where his last parental figure just stood. And some of the villagers felt shame. Some tried to approach him, some tried to get him away from the prison, but he just wouldn’t budge. He stayed in his place, staring. Why would he go anywhere, after all? He just had everything taken from him.</p><p>He spent the whole day there and he slept leaning against the cold iron door of the jail that night. He barely moved from his spot. In the morning, the blood on his hands dried and so did most of his tears. Throughout the night, no one left their house, it was only him outside, no one got attacked or hurt, so… why did everyone approach him again?</p><p>“Nobody died… Was he here all night?”</p><p>“The wounds on Cornelius’ body… two people must’ve done it.”</p><p>“It was him and his father, wasn’t it?”</p><p>“He was left with no one to help him kill, no wonder he’s so scared!”</p><p>“Once he recovers, he’ll kill again, won’t he?!”</p><p>“Of course he will!”</p><p>“We need to execute him before he can kill us all!”</p><p>Why was everyone yelling? Why wouldn’t they leave him alone? He didn’t hurt anybody, he knew that, Robin knew that… When everyone got quieter, the mayor knelt down in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder, getting his attention.</p><p>“Robin. Do you have anything to say for yourself?” the man asked. Slowly, the boy shook his head. He didn’t want to talk anymore, to anyone.</p><p>In a flash, he was inside the jail, everyone watching him through the bars and the door. Just like a year earlier, he hugged himself and avoided eye contact. Some people tried to pressure him into admitting to the crime <em>he didn’t commit</em>, and some tried to comfort him. But among all the voices speaking to him, one question stood out.</p><p>“How does it feel?” the mayor asked. This time he didn’t sound sad or merciful, he sounded angry… Robin looked up and dared to lock eyes with the older man. And just like his father, he smiled through the tears.</p><p>“...I feel the closest to my parents I’ve ever been,” he answered. And just like last time, the statement was shattering to hear, but Jimmy didn’t even get to consider letting the boy go, because someone already pulled the leaver.</p><p>And just like that, it was over.</p><p>The villagers quickly left, and by the next dawn, just two people were left standing. Two murderers who, by killing just one more person that night, managed to outnumber the other villagers. And with no one left, Jack and Bob left the city in rush, hoping to be away before anyone finds the village they singlehandedly destroyed.<br/>A week or so later, someone strangely familiar found it, empty, silent, and abandoned. They soon found the mayor’s notes and from them found out about how <strike>their partner and son</strike> the local blind man and the orphan were both executed after being accused of causing <strike>his</strike> Cornelius’ death. And that’s all they needed to know before leaving the town as well, to never look back.</p><p>Robin’s life never got easier, had it?</p>
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